DENMARK: Criminalising HIV sufferers (1)
01 January 1991
DENMARK: Criminalising HIV sufferers
artdoc March=1995
The Danish criminal code (para.252) has been amended following
the acquittal in the Supreme Court of a man suffering from HIV
who had unsafe sex with 23 women (none of whom were found to be
HIV positive), and who did not tell them of his condition.
The amendment to the code says that a person who several times,
and in a reckless way, endangers another person with a
life-threatening or incurable disease can be sent to prison for
up to four years. Opponents of the change - lawyers, gay
communities and their organisations - argue that the change is
discriminatory, unenforceable and dangerous.
They say it is discriminatory because it puts all the
responsibility for safe sex on the shoulders of HIV-positive
people and implies that they are potential 'killers'. It is
unenforceable because it is often impossible for the police to
gather evidence, and it is dangerous because potential sufferers
may refrain from being tested for fear of being criminalised
which in itself could lead to even more people being put at risk.
Source: Information.
Statewatch, Vol 4 no 6, November-December 1994